The Republican Party needs to embrace the tea party and stop the bad-mouthing of them. The enemy is the Democratic Party. Period. They are all socialists lining their own pockets and destroying America.

I bet you guys hate the fact that once the Republicans lost the ability to gridlock State government and we got rid of the clown-in-chief governator the state budget is back in balance and we're able to start to chip away at the mass of debt run up under Arnold's typically Republican-style policies. Yes, business is thriving, real estate values are back and unemployment is down. The economy is working again, despite every effort the right wing has made to drag the state and nation back down into debt-ridden feudal backwaters.

Oh, wait, I forgot. Reality has a liberal bias. I guess you guys aren't even aware of what has happened in the real world over the past five years. Never mind. Carry on with your rants.

What is Huh talking about? Back in balance! Based on what government sponsored statistics are you reading and believing. The only way the budget can remotely become balanced is on the backs of taxpayers and increasing taxes promoted by the Dems in control in Sacramento. Forget cutting spending or cutting back or giving incentives to businesses to stay and hire. No way. Last time I checked this state is run by Dems and was even when there was a Republican governor in office. I guess you don't remember. Oh, I forgot, "medical marijuana", it's now ok according to Obama.

Huh, your perception of reality has little if anything to do with facts. The "Governator" had to deal with overwhelming Democrat control of both Houses. Would you be happy if the Republican Party would be outlawed altogether so we could have an "ideal" socialist state? Try comparing our unemployment figures and budget balance with Texas which takes a different approach. Then tell me which works better.

Well, a projected budget surplus, paying down California's debts, and even putting money into a "rainy-day" fund all sound like pretty decent fiscal accomplishments for the Democrats -- certainly more than we got under Arnold.

Tony, the democrats didn't make Arnold eliminate the decades-old vehicle registration tax which was due to be reinstated after being "temporarily" suspended because of unusually high revenues during the dot-com boom. That was a purely Republican cause, cheered on by the anti-tax claque.

And it blew a $5 billion per year hole in the state budget.

The "something for nothing" crowd who insist that taxes should always - always - be cut are ignorant of basic economic reality: we have to pay for the stuff we want: Schools, prisons (yes - a growing part of the state's budget) courts, CHP, highways, bridges, pollution control, etc. The tantrum throwers insist that they're "victims" - that all the tax money is going to other people. That's because they're childish and self-centered.

I've been to Texas. It's a state with one of the highest poverty rates in the nation and badly polluted air and water despite being relatively sparsely populated. It's a state where they deal with bad roads by converting them to gravel, because it's cheaper than maintaining the pavement. Web Link Its economy is based on extraction - stealing resources from future generations, and using them up today. Typical right wing, short-term, me-me-me thinking.

But why stop at Texas? Why not go all the way to that Ayn Randian nirvana - Somalia? No taxes, no regulations. Must be heaven on earth, right?

Thanks - I was born in California, and I'm happy to pay the small price involved in preserving, maintaining and improving the state for future generations. That actually does "work better."

Posted by Anti-union
a resident of another community
on Jan 25, 2014 at 12:40 am

The huge unfunded union pension mess is being ignored...it just keeps growing. Since The public unions were Gov moonbeam legacy nightmare for us to suffer, he would be the logical one to FIX the mess he gave us. But, NO, he's ignoring it....putting HIS REelection ahead of our children. It's cruel to leave HIS mess to the next generation. They already have to suffer feeding the baby boomer social security and obamacare inevitable financial burden, and moombeam's going to sneek out leaving them the unfunded union pension mess too. Cruel and SAD!